Matt Agnew - Bachelor Australia - Season 7 - Discussion

The Bachelor's Matt Agnew moves on with runner-up Abbie Chatfield

Just days after Matt dumped Chelsie, rumours are swirling he's back with Abbie.

When Ten snagged Matt Agnew, a tall, dark and handsome astrophysicist from Melbourne to be The Bachelor for 2019, they believed they'd struck television gold.

But just eight weeks after the show wrapped, Matt, 32, has gone from hot nerd to nightmare after he dumped winner Chelsie McLeod and sparked concerns he's "done a Blake Garvey", throwing himself back into the arms of none other than runner-up Abbie Chatfield!

History repeats

In 2014, Blake, 36, sparked outrage when he dumped winner Sam Frost, 30, after proposing to her at the final rose ceremony – and shockingly went behind her back, absconding to Thailand with second runner-up, Louise Pillidge, 31.

The star received harsh and universal backlash for his decision, with the outcry forcing him into hiding. And now, fans may have to relive it all after Matt released a statement on Instagram last Sunday, explaining that he and Chelsie hadn't "translated from filming into the real, everyday world".

However, perhaps tellingly, when Chelsie chose to address the split, she instead wrote a short Instagram story begging for fans to "stop sending articles about the break-up" as it only made it more difficult for her.

While Australia and Chelsie, 28, mourned what they thought was the most stable and compatible relationship to come out of the franchise, Matt began following Abbie, 23, on Instagram.

"Matt was certainly more attracted to Abbie [on the show]," a source tells Woman's Day.

"But Chelsie fit the narrative better. Two hot scientists. The point of difference would have been great marketing and he thought they could have their own science show or something."

Public image

Contrary to his on-screen shy persona, the source reveals that Matt "wants to pursue a career badly in media" and even applied for two seasons of The Bachelorette.

"He applied for Ali's [Oetjen, 2018] and Sophie's [Monk, 2017] seasons, he actually got through to Sophie's but a research project came up and he had to back out," the source says.

While Matt planned to pursue a career as the "cool science guy" on TV, Chelsie retreated and publicly stated on Instagram she didn't want a career as an influencer, nor did she have any desire to stay in the public realm.

Different paths

As soon as he realised Chelsie didn't want to be famous, he gave her the flick.

"He dumped her straight away," the source says. "He told her their goals weren't aligned and they just weren't on the same path. She's devastated and thinks that he's maybe met someone else."

With Abbie still firmly single, she's made it clear the media does not faze her. Could it only be a matter of time before Matt goes back to Abbie for a second try? Ten is now scrambling trying to deflect the past Bachelor season and instead focus on The Bachelorette's Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt.

But the reverberations from Blake's scandal are threatening to resurface with Matt.

It's happened before...

More than a million viewers tuned in to watch Blake Garvey drop to one knee to propose to Sam Frost with a $58,000 Bunda engagement ring in South Africa in 2014, but behind the scenes he had dumped Sam even before it went to air!

While Sam was at a loss as to what happened, Blake quickly made a move on second runner-up Louise Pillidge, writing a five-page love letter to win her back.

"Here is the absolute truth. In the weeks, days, hours and minutes since I last saw you, not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of you and our time together," Blake wrote before arranging a meet-up with Louise in Thailand.

The couple were together for almost two years, before splitting in 2016.

Just Looking wrote:@Bobette I hope this isn’t the case with Angie and Carlin

EXCLUSIVE: How fame tore The Bachelor’s Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod apart

''Chels really couldn't handle being in the public eye.''

NOV 25, 2019 6:30AM

Their love was written in the South African stars, but just two months after The Bachelor finale, Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod have gone their separate ways. Noooo!

While there's been much speculation over the break-up, NW can reveal that the pair decided to split because Chelsie, 28, couldn't deal with life in the spotlight – and Matt wasn't prepared to walk away from it.

"Chels really couldn't handle being in the public eye," a close friend tells NW. "Her anxiety got so bad that she sometimes couldn't even leave the house because she was afraid of getting mobbed or followed by fans."

That's not all. According to the insider, Matt, 32, began losing his patience after having to decline numerous TV offers because Chelsie didn't want the attention they'd bring.

"Matt lost out on a lot of really good work opportunities because Chelsie refused to take part in any of it and forced him to say no," says the source.

The revelation comes after the former couple took to their respective Instagram accounts to announce the split.

"Our relationship hasn't translated from filming to the real, everyday world," Matt wrote to his fans , with Chelsie later adding, "Thank you to everyone for your support during such a challenging and emotional time."

In the Bachelor finale, Matt confessed he had fallen head over heels for chemical engineer Chelsie and gifted her a "memory" ring in honour of their time on the show together.

Speaking to Now to Love after the episode aired, Matt and Chelsie revealed just how difficult it was to keep their relationship under wraps while the show was still airing.

"[It was] bloody hard!" Matt said, but admitted he had an easier ride because he was the Bachelor, rather than a contestant.

"Probably a bit easier for me because unless I didn't pick someone, people know there's going to be someone that I'm texting so as long as I had a code name in my phone I could still message, I could still send things and people couldn't really deduce anything."

Matt and Chelsie are IMO an excellent match and have a decent shot at making it in the real world, if she is willing to put up with the attention and lack of privacy that comes with the win.

Just Looking wrote:@Bobette maybe you’re right.  I don’t know how these people can be such good actors and fake feelings I know I couldn’t do it

Chelsie McLeod basically just confirmed that Matt Agnew cheated

Basically everyone has been left hanging wondering WTF went down between Bachelor Matt Agnew and Chelsie McLeod after announcing their split 2 months after the show's finale.

It all started when Chelsie commented on her Bachelor co-star Jessica Brody's Instagram photo where she's holding a rose.

"Me vs. Me when he tells me I’m the only girl he’s talking to" read the caption.

Chelsie commented on the photo with a VERY pointed statement: "triggeredddddd'.

Adding fuel to the fire, Chelsie's good friend who was also on the show replied.

"@chelsiemcleod Bahaha haahahha when u can finally say triggred as well. ytg"

Chelsie replied, "@rachaelarahill triggered is an understatement tbf."

OK.

This comment really says it all.

leavers wrote:If contractually obligated to pick an F1 no matter what, why not go with the one you have all the sexual chemistry with so you at least get a bangin few months of doona dancing out of it?  

sdmom wrote:This show certainly makes me question my judgement of characters! Lol

Chelsie is the kind of contestants I’d like to see more on the show (genuine, pretty, smart, not a social influencer wanna be) but unfortunately, it seems like if you don’t/can’t enjoy the publicity the spotlight, don’t sign up.